High Speed 2 needs Crossrail 2 to work

Former transport secretary Lord Adonis and London mayor Boris Johnson have joined forces to press the case for Crossrail 2 to be incorporated into plans for the High Speed 2 rail link from London to the north.

Euston: possible Crossrail 2 station

Adonis and Johnson were expected to formally unveil detailed proposals for the £9bn to £15bn project on Tuesday night.

Transport for London (TfL) and business lobby group London First have been working up two possible alternatives for a Crossrail 2 route since early last year (NCE 24 May 2012).

Both bodies believe that Crossrail 2 is essential to relieve the pressure on Euston underground station.

The route likely to be recommended in the TfL/London First report would run from Clapham Junction in south west London via major bottlenecks at Victoria, Euston and Highbury & Islington stations and out to Seven Sisters in north east London.

The new route was drawn up by a working group of engineers and business leaders chaired by Adonis. The group included HS2 Ltd delivery director Roy Hill, Arup director Duncan Wilkinson and Gatwick Airport chairman Sir David Rowlands.

TfL managing director of planning Michèle Dix also took part.

The report will provide updated costs and also recommend whether the line should be a suburban rail line or a metro.

Readers' comments (2)

Another £15bn on infrastructure in London! Is it a wonder that London has avoided the recession faced by the rest of the country and struggles to provide road space, land and water to the ever increasing population? What about Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham for four cities worthy of investment.

Good question; I believe lobbying was part of the role envisaged for the Mayoral roles that were proposed and rejected in those cities. Infrastructure is as much about politics as it is about engineering.

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